The Cold Shoulder (Ghost Adventures)
by Lastweekon
Summary: Something has been bothering Zak since they got home from their last lockdown, but Nick can't figure out what's wrong. WARNING: This fic contains mass amounts of angsty, sappy fluff. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!


_This story takes place near the beginning of Nick and Zak's relationship. No one knows that they are together and something is bothering Zak but Nick can't figure out what it is._

Nick sat in the driver's seat of the large SUV. He was feeling restless from the long drive and the sun beating down in his eyes wasn't helping at all. He glanced over at the passenger seat to see Zak's face buried in his phone, like it had been for the last couple of hours. Nick reached down grabbing a fist full of Twizzlers. He munched on them boredly as he drove. A quick glance in the rearview mirror revealed that everyone else was fast asleep. He glanced back at Zak who sat expressionless, continuing to scroll through his Twitter feed.

"Anything good?" Nick asked, desperate for entertainment.

"Nope." Zak replied without looking up from the screen.

"Twizzler?" Nick asked, extending the bag toward Zak.

"No, thank you." Zak answered back coldly. Nick sighed in defeat. Zak had been grumpy since they had gotten home from their last lockdown a few days before. Nick had no idea what the problem was and Zak wasn't willing to talk about it. Whatever it was, Nick refused to get sucked into another argument about it. He put the twizzlers down, aggressively grabbing another handful for himself before changing the radio station.

"I was listening to that." Zak said, annoyed.

"I thought you were reading tweets." Nick said, equally annoyed.

"I was. I was reading tweets while listening to _that._ " He said, reaching over to change it back. Nick exhaled deeply, reminding himself that bickering with Zak would only make him more grumpy. And they still had about an hour left in the car.

"Ok, listen to whatever you want." Nick said as calmly as possible, settling in for a long drive.

They arrived at the location an hour and a half later, having hit a bit of traffic on the way into town. Everyone piled out of the SUV looking tired and feeling drained. It wasn't often that they did investigations two weeks in a row, but due to scheduling conflicts it was the only way to make it work. They got to work setting up for their interviews. They were running a bit behind schedule with their first interview arriving in 10 minutes. Zak ran around giving out the usual orders, making sure everything was ready to go.

"Aaron, I need you to shoot a little B-roll before we lose the light. Jay, make sure we've got audio ready to go before they get here. Billy, can you get the rest of this equipment out of the car and unpacked?" Nick couldn't help but smile at Zak's bossyness. It had always been a weakness of his. Say what you want, but Zak had the crew running like a well-oiled machine.

"What should I do?" Nick asked, approaching Zak with an appreciative smile.

"Drive faster next time." Zak replied, walking away. Nick shook his head, bewildered. He had no idea what was up Zak's ass - only that it wasn't him. And it hadn't been for a few days now. It's the longest dry spell they'd had since they got together and Nick was starting to worry. But for now, they had to be professional. Nick just wanted to get this investigation over with so that they could talk privately.

The owners of the homestead arrived on schedule and Zak snapped into charming interviewer mode, asking the family about the history of the land and their paranormal experiences. Zak joked and laughed with the family and the rest of the crew and Nick couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. But he laughed along with everyone else so as not to draw attention to himself. Zak directed his next question at the patriarch of the family, an older gentleman who had lived on the land since the early 1920's.

"So, tell me John. Where would you say you've experienced the most activity over the years?"

"Well, I've experienced something in just about every one of these buildings, but never anything like the activity in the old barn out at the back edge of our property. I remember being in there as a young man and on more than one occasion I'd have something thrown at my head. And I'm not talking a pebble either. I've had a wrench thrown at me. A bucket." He said sincerely.

"So, you're telling me that you have had large, heavy objects thrown at your head on more than one occasion?" Zak repeated.

"That's right." John concurred.

"All in that old, dilapidated barn?" Zak asked, always needing to reiterate for emphasis.

"Well, yes. This was some years ago, you understand. And for obvious reasons we've let that barn go into disarray." John explained.

"Have you ever thought about tearing it down?" Zak inquired.

"We have. But we've heard so many things about increased spirit activity when it comes to construction or demolition. So we thought better to just leave it where it is and keep our distance."

"You're absolutely right." Zak said, turning toward Aaron's camera. "When spirits are tied to a location, it's usually because they're attached to the history of the building in some way. And when you start to change things, they can become agitated and in some cases, violent. Thankfully, we're not easily scared by violent spirits. It's kind of in our job description. And I can't tell you how excited I am to do a solo investigation in that barn tomorrow night. That is, if I have your permission?" Zak finished, turning toward John for confirmation.

"It's up to you, Zak. But I wouldn't go in there if I were you. The building's not structurally sound. All it would take is one big gust of wind to bring the whole thing down around you." John warned.

"But do I have your permission to go? This is your property after all." Zak pushed.

"Like I said, I wouldn't if I were you. But it's your call." John emphasized. Zak turned to Nick's camera with a wide grin.

"I'll take that as permission." he said before thanking the family for the interview.

"Zak, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nick asked after they had wrapped up the interview. Zak shrugged his shoulders, following Nick behind the SUV as the guys finished packing up gear. "You're not investigating that old piece of shit barn." Nick said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I am Nick." Zak answered back sternly.

"No. You're not. You heard him, it's not safe. There's plenty of other haunted spots on the property. I say we just set up an X camera shooting into the barn and see if we catch anything." Nick said, trying to reason with him.

"We're not gonna get shit from a static camera and you know it. We came all this way to collect evidence, and here we have a building where someone got attacked on more than one occasion and you want me to just point a camera at it? Zak said, voice raising incredulously.

"Zak, please. I can't have you getting hurt." Nick said, reaching his hands out to rest softly on Zak's arms. "And the network is gonna flip if you keep doing this kind of shit." Zak pulled himself loose from Nick's grip.

"Really? The network?" He said angrily. "I don't give a shit about the network. All they care about is good television, which I'm trying to give them."

"Good television is not you getting killed!" Nick was yelling now, and he didn't care. "I don't know what you're trying to prove, but this is not how you do it. It's stupid and it's reckless and it's not happening!"

"It's my decision and it's happening." Zak said decisively. "And if I die, just make sure you get it on camera." he muttered as he walked away. Nick dropped his head in defeat. That had not gone well. Zak was definitely pissed about something. But for the life of him, Nick couldn't figure out what it was. Normally, he would have gone after him, tried to get to the bottom of the real issue, but they had already drawn too much attention to themselves. He decided he'd let Zak cool down and try again later.

Zak was quiet the whole ride back to the hotel. He had opted to sit in the back seat which left Aaron riding shotgun. The other guys had heard the fight but didn't seem to think anything of it. Just Zak being Zak. Willing to do anything for evidence. They talked about dinner plans, texting Yelp links back and forth, trying to find the best local restaurant. Zak declined the invite to join for dinner, claiming he had a headache and wanted to get a good night's sleep before their lockdown. Nick saw his opportunity and agreed, saying he just wanted to grab something light from the hotel cafe and go to sleep early. This was nothing new. He and Zak had skipped out on dinner in the past to secretly meet up in each other's hotel rooms during investigations. But this time, Nick hoped to use the time to get to the bottom of Zak's mood the past few days.

After everyone had left for dinner, Nick made his way to Zak's room down the hall. He had gone straight to his room without a word after they got back to the hotel and Nick hadn't seen him since. Nick stood outside the door feeling nervous all of a sudden. He took a deep breath to collect himself. He was anxious to get everything sorted out so he could have his playful, loving boyfriend back. He knocked lightly on the door, waiting for the familiar sounds of Zak shuffling behind the door. But the room was quiet. He knocked again, a bit louder this time. "Zak?" He called quietly. "It's me." Nothing. No sounds were coming from the room and Nick began to realize that he was being ignored. He waited for a few more seconds before making his way back to his own room. He plopped down on the bed, fishing his phone out of his pocket to send Zak a quick text.

 _Babe, I'm sorry I lost my temper earlier. I just want to talk to you. Please come over._

He pressed 'send' hearing the whooshing sound as the text went out and was marked as delivered. He sat idly turning the phone in his hands and waiting for a response. After a couple minutes, he checked to see if Zak had responded. The message was marked as read but that was it. No response from Zak. He exhaled sharply, reaching for the remote and turning on the TV.

A couple hours later, he checked his phone for the hundredth time to find that Zak still had not responded. He was past being annoyed or mad. He was just worried. It was unlike Zak to stay silent for so long. When he's pissed, he lets you know it in no uncertain terms. Hey keyed in another quick text, just wanting to hear something back.

 _How's your headache? Do you need me to get you something from the drugstore?_

He couldn't help but hope that Zak really did just have a headache. He got them pretty bad from time to time, and the only cure was sleep in a dark room. Usually with Nick, but that was beside the point. He stared at the screen, deciding that if Zak read the message and didn't respond, he was being ignored. But if he didn't read the message, it was probably because he was sleeping off a migraine. He felt like a child over-analyzing his text messages, but he was desperate. After a half hour, the message was still marked as unread and Nick felt his eyelids growing heavy. He decided to give in and call it a night. Zak was most likely dead to the world at this point anyway. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little sad about sleeping alone. He thought about the last time Zak had gotten a migraine. It had gotten so bad that he'd thrown up. Nick spent the whole day in bed with him, putting cool washcloths on his forehead and massaging his pressure points to ease the pain. But now Zak didn't even want him around and he didn't know why.

Nick was pulled from a restless sleep by the sound of someone calling his name. He lay in the bed, eyes wide open as he caught his breath. It wasn't the first time this had happened. In the past, he'd had attachments follow him home from haunted locations and they'd call to him in the night. It still scared the hell out of him though. He tried to calm his mind, knowing that being afraid only opened him up to the activity.

"Niiiiiick!" he heard again, but louder this time. And more familiar. "Nicholas Groff!"

"Shit." he said, recognizing the voice. He sat up and looked over to the clock. 3 am. He had a feeling that this wasn't gonna be good.

"Nick!"

He jumped up, making his way to his hotel room door and flinging it open to find Zak, clearly drunk and swaying on the other side. "Zak, babe, what's going on?" Nick asked quietly, reaching an arm out to try and guide him inside the room. Zak pulled his arm away, stumbling a bit.

"No! I need to talk to you, Nick!" Zak slurred loudly. Nick's eyes darted down the hallway. Zak had no doubt woken some people up already and it was only a matter of time before they came out of their rooms to investigate.

"Ok babe…" Nick said, raising his hands calmly . "Why don't you just come inside and we can talk." He stepped back, making room for Zak to pass. Zak crossed his arms, thinking about it for a moment before making his way into the room.

"Fine. But I'm coming in because _I_ want to. Got it?" He snarked. Nick might have laughed if he wasn't worried about the scene Zak would cause.

"Got it." Nick said as seriously as he could manage. He closed the door, locking it behind him before turning to face Zak. "Zak, why are you drunk?"

"I'm asking the questions here, Groff!" Zak said, pointing at Nick sternly. Nick nodded obediently. "For starters, where do you get off?" Zak asked, jabbing his pointed finger into Nick's chest. Nick looked at Zak, surprised.

"Is this about earlier?" Nick guessed. "I know I lost my temper and I'm really sorry."

"You're not the boss of me, Nick!" Zak shouted.

"I know." Nick said calmly, reaching out place a hand on Zak's cheek. "I just want you safe."

"You just want me to play nice for the network." Zak said harshly. "That's all you care about. You don't care about me."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nick asked. His hand instinctively moving to wrap around the nape of Zak's neck to hold him tighter. Zak's eyes dropped sadly in the kind of unguarded emotion he only revealed when he was drunk. "Zak." Nick said, feeling his heart jump into his throat.

"It's okay, Nick. You don't have to pretend." Zak said, eyes still on the floor.

"Pretend what? Who's pretending?" Nick asked, wrapping his other hand around the back of Zak's neck to bring his face eye level. Zak's eyes glistened as he looked at Nick. But he quickly composed himself, setting his jaw and stepping out of Nick's grasp. "Zak…" Nick said, reaching after him.

"No." Zak said firmly. "Don't pretend like you give a shit about my safety. Not after last week."

"Last week?" Nick said, confused.

"You don't even remember, do you?" Zak asked, exasperated. "Maybe I can jog your memory. Jerome Grand Hotel? I almost got my head chopped off in the elevator shaft. Does that ring a bell?"

"Of course I remember that, Zak." Nick said quickly.

"Then maybe you remember not even lifting a finger to try and help me? Do you remember how a _stranger_ pulled me to safety while you just stood there _filming it."_ Zak was pissed but a trail of hot tears betrayed him. And Nick finally realized why Zak had been giving him the cold shoulder since they had gotten home. Sure, Zak was mad. But more than anything, he was hurt and sad that Nick hadn't been the one to save him. And Nick couldn't blame him.

"Zak, please." Nick said, taking a step toward the older man who was shaking from some mixture of anger and sadness. "I'm so sorry. You have no idea how many times I've replayed that moment over and over in my head. I just...froze. And I hate myself for it." He moved to place his hands on Zak's shaky shoulders. "I couldn't have lived with myself if something had happened to you. I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Why do you think I was so crazy today about you investigating that old barn? I'm so terrified that something is going to happen to you and I'm not going to be able to stop it."

"But you seemed so calm about the whole thing when it happened. You _laughed_." Zak said, still disbelieving.

"I laughed because you laughed. I think I was just in shock about the whole thing. But I didn't sleep at all that night. I just stayed awake, holding you and replaying that moment over in my mind. I'll never forgive myself." Now Nick was shaking too.

"Nick…" Zak said, bringing his hands to lay on top of Nick's.

"And if I had known what you were thinking...that you were having doubts...I'm so sorry, Zak." Nick said, resting his forehead on Zak's and closing his eyes.

"It's okay, Nick. It's okay." Zak said, bringing his arms around Nick's waist to rub slow comforting circles on his back. Nick breathed in Zak's warmth and the smell of whiskey on his breath. He felt more relaxed than he had in days. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Zak said tiredly.

"Alright. Come on ya big lush, let's get you to the bathroom." Nick said, wrapping his arm around Zak's waist to support him.

"Don't listen to me while I puke, okay? Zak said. "But don't leave!" he added quickly.

"You got it, babe." Nick said with a smile.


End file.
